U.S. equities and stock exchange traded funds retreated Thursday with the sell-off in technology shares deepening, but U.S. banks managed to skirt the blood letting.
The S&P 500 Index, along with related funds including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY), iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV) and Vanguard 500 Index (NYSEARCA:VOO), were 1.2% lower Thursday and on track to post their largest one-day drop in a month.
Technology company shares in the S&P 500 were among the worst performers Thursday, declining 2.1% and moving toward their largest monthly loss in a year.
On the other hand, the financial sector was looking much rosier as financial companies in the S&P 500 rose 0.4% after the Federal Reserve cleared the top six U.S. banks in the second part of the annual stress test, which signaled the banks to raise dividend payouts and share buybacks.